It was a rare Monday night special that wrapped up the 2020 racing season at the Stuart International Speedway on Monday night, August 24th. I say rare Monday night race, but with promoter Mike VanGenderen you just never know. One of the more innovative and aggressive promoters around, MVG is always working on some special or a new twist to the routine to make it different. The Monday night race was first run a couple of years ago here with I think that also being one dollar hot dog night and it went over very big.
The latest twist is that this is Season Championship night with champions crowned at the completion of the night based on points earned during the point night races during the 2020 racing season. It also was the Monday night spotlight race on XR and as a result of that free world wide streaming of the race which allowed MVG to sell a bunch of advertising to sponsors and raise some nice bonuses for the drivers.
It was another blazing hot night in central Iowa with the temperatures pushing the triple digit numbers along with plenty of sun and a fairly strong wind that was a hot and dry wind. In other words, a difficult night indeed to keep a dirt track race ready to withstand the night. However, as has been the case most every night that racing has taken place here this year, the track was a good one again on Monday. It started out a little bit more slimy than usual, likely the result of the recent enduro held here on Sunday night that packed the track down hard and made it a challenge to get the water deep into the surface.
The track quickly cleared up though and provided a smooth and fast surface, dust free too, for the rest of the night and as usual, drivers were racing all over the track although many found the top side to be best for them on Monday.
Speaking of water, it was again a challenge to find some to water the track, grounds and driveways once again as no rain has yet to materialize in west central Iowa. Given the options available to himself, MVG ended up hauling water for two days so that he would have enough for his last two events here and he had just enough left in the pond on the property to handle the Monday night show. Standing around the pond and watching the water get sucked into the tanker truck, it was a time to reflect on the racing season and also to look forward to events that were upcoming. This "pond talk" was very informative but however, not for publication. If you want to know the inside scoop, you'll just have to get a pond of your own!
A nice crowd was on hand for the races on Monday, especially given the hot weather and the other options that were available to watch the night's racing and the track has always been open concerning this night and encouraging people to watch the live stream is they just couldn't make it here.
Sixty four cars were on hand to race plus the Mini Mods who also had a couple of heats. The only class that was just a bit short on cars was the Modifieds but that was more than made up for by some very strong fields in the other classes.
Draw/redraw set the starting fields on this night so there was a real mixture of drivers that headed up the grids for the various classes. The driver who took most advantage of the bonuses offered was California Modified driver Cody Laney. Ethan Braaksma was the early leader of the Modified feature but he was fighting an ill handling car all night and when he pushed up the track, Laney was right there to take over the lead. He then held off a charging Tim Ward who gave him a strong challenge in the late laps when a nice move by Laney to get by a lapped car gave him the margin of victory that he needed.
Because he had not won a feature race this year at SIS he was eligible for the bonuses and he went home with a nice paycheck for fifteen hundred dollars for twenty five laps of work. Happy Gilman completed the victory lane top three while Braaksma, who eventually pulled off ,did earn enough points to win the track title.
The Stock Cars had the biggest field of cars and other than one minor yellow for a spin, they ran off their twenty two lap main green to checkered. Their race also had a good battle early with Bob Daniels and Jeremy Gettler battling for the lead, with Daniels taking that top spot.
However, it didn't take too long for Damon Murty to work his way up from the fourth row and soon he was all over the leader. I continue to be amazed how the big Stock Cars came move around this fairly tight track, changing lanes and running just inches apart without the tremendous wrecks that seen sure to happen at almost any time. They are truly skilled at what they do.
As per usual, there was no stopping Murty as he slid past Daniels eventually and pulled away in the later laps for the win. Daniels would have a good run that would see him end up second with Brock Badger also strong for a third place finish in front of Chanse Hollatz who was down from Clear Lake, bonus hunting. Gettler would be the track champion.
One look at the Sport Mods would tell you that the top six finishers were among the strongest in all of IMCA with the top six being Carter, Osantowski, Reimers, Thompson, Anderson and VanDenBerg. That folks, it a tough lineup and one that was hard to crack. Carter drew the pole and led all the way as all six ran just about the same and passing was tough because of that.
Osantowski made the most moves, as he got from fifth to eventually finish second but Carter had a healthy lead at the line. He has been very strong here all year and also claimed the track title.
A nice group of Hobby Stocks was on hand and their main event was a good one too, again marked by just a single yellow flag, despite the fact that they were running three and four wide more often than not. Tom Killen was the early leader but then with strong moves, Zac Hemmingsen was able to get by and take over the top spot.
Track point champion Brandon Cox moved up also and as Killen and Hemmingsen battled for the lead, suddenly it was a three wide battle for the top spot and Cox, as he has done often this year, then just motored away on the bottom to take the top spot and leave the others battling for second. It would be Hemmingsen that would claim that position while a late race charge saw Dylan Nelson come all the way from tenth to finish a strong third.
Hunter Patrick led from start to finish to win the Sport Compact feature race. He built up a big lead early after starting on the pole and held off a late charge by Mitchell Bunch to get the win. It was a tough night for Bryan Vannausdle who was turned around early in the main after some over aggressive driving but despite his bumper cover dragging behind him throughout the race, Bryan soldered on to grab just enough points with his eighth place finish to claim the track championship.
Despite taking a few minutes to introduce the top ten in points that were racing in the feature races on Monday night, the final checkered flag still waved just a few minutes after 10 pm and put a cap on what was a very successful season at Stuart International Speedway. There still remains a possibility that one more race could be scheduled in September so race fans should keep an eye on social media for any announcements. And if not, MVG has plenty of upcoming races on his plate already including Memphis Mo, Corning and a number of other races throughout the county where his services are in demand.
Thanks to MVG and all his hard working crew at Stuart. They have seen plenty of me this year with his off night schedule being very attractive for visiting along with his many interesting specials and I hope that I haven't worn out my welcome too much, as we all have hopes for an even better 2021 racing season when the world gets straightened back out once again.
No comments:
Post a Comment